The Liberty Girls

by Fiona Ford

  ‘Make sure it doesn’t happen again,’ she said in a clipped tone but with a grin on her face so he knew she wasn’t wholly serious.

  ‘You can count on it,’ he said. ‘Will I see you and Arthur at the weekend?’

  ‘Perhaps,’ she replied, giving him another brilliant smile as she turned to walk back to work.

  She had barely put one foot in front of the other when her heart sank at the sight of the woman before her. There, barely a couple of feet away, was Mrs Claremont, a smug smile on her face.

  Alice felt herself growing hot at her boss’s scrutiny. Just what exactly did she think she’d seen? Whatever it was, Alice wasn’t about to give her superior the satisfaction of trying to find out. Instead, she carried on walking back towards the store and smiled as she passed her boss.

  ‘Lovely day, isn’t it,’ she remarked.

  ‘Lovelier for some than for others,’ Mrs Claremont smirked. ‘Does your husband know you’re going around canoodling with strange GIs?’

  It was as if a mist had descended as Alice felt a white-hot fury rise within. She rounded on her boss. ‘And what business is it of yours?’

  Mrs Claremont glared at Alice. ‘If you’re bringing this store into disrepute with your immoral behaviour, not to mention my department, then it’s got everything to do with me.’

  ‘How dare you,’ Alice said, her voice dangerously quiet. ‘I would never bring Liberty’s reputation into question, you know how much I value my position here.’

  ‘That’s not the way it looked to me!’

  Alice shook her head sadly. She had hoped that following their conversation in the café all those weeks ago they might somehow reach a new level of understanding. She had thought that it would be possible to show Mrs Claremont the real joy of being part of the Liberty family, but her new boss had shown no interest – and Alice was tired.

  ‘When we had that chat in the café and you said you’d been left alone and had nobody to help you raise your children, I felt sorry for you. I thought it was a travesty, something nobody deserved, but now I can see why you ended up that way – you drove people away with your bitterness.’

  As Alice finished, Mrs Claremont stood looking aghast, opening and closing her mouth like a fish, until she recovered her composure. ‘You’ll regret talking to me like that, Alice Milwood. I’ll make sure you pay, make no mistake.’

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Back at work, Alice continued with the rest of her afternoon’s duties and tried to push all thoughts of her altercation with Mrs Claremont from her mind.

  If she was honest Alice knew the woman would have every right to have her sacked or moved for insubordination. But then again, she thought, quietly seething as she served one of her regulars, she had been strongly provoked and she doubted there was a court in the land that wouldn’t agree.

  When she wasn’t serving she turned her mind to Jack’s news. As if she couldn’t feel any worse at the idea of losing her job, the idea of losing her friend left her feeling broken. It surprised her how quickly Jack had become a part of her life and how much he meant to her. Although they had only been friends for about a month, Jack had fast become the first person she wanted to talk to each day and she enjoyed his company far more than she cared to admit. Deep down she knew her feelings for him weren’t appropriate and she had a sneaking suspicion that was why she had overreacted to Mrs Claremont’s attempts to rattle her.

  Still, she thought with a sigh as she reached for a roll of fabric and began cutting it into a pattern ready for one of her customers to collect later, it had happened now. What would be would be, and in the meantime, there was still Jack’s idea of a day out, which the more she came to think about it the more she thought it could be just the thing to restore all their spirits.

  Glancing around the shop floor, she saw Mrs Claremont still hadn’t returned from lunch and as they were quiet she decided to go and talk to Mr Button about taking a loan out against the Liberty holiday fund for the day trip. Perhaps, if she could persuade the store manager, they could travel somewhere for the day, or at the very least treat themselves to a lunch?

  Walking up the wooden staircase she never tired of admiring, thanks to its uniquely carved panels and intricately designed woodwork, Alice make her way to the store manager’s office.

  Seeing Rose sitting at her old desk, Alice was surprised to find she felt nervous around her old friend. ‘Hello, Rose, is Mr Button in?’

  Rose frowned at the sound of Alice’s voice. ‘He is, but he’s had Mrs Claremont in with him all afternoon. Their voices have been raised – and I’ve heard your name mentioned quite a bit. What have you done?’

  ‘Said something I shouldn’t.’ Alice sighed as she stood over her friend’s desk and fiddled with one of her paperclips.

  ‘Yes, well, we’ve all done that, I suppose,’ Rose replied, not unkindly. ‘Do you want me to see if he’ll see you?’

  ‘No, that’s all right,’ Alice replied, her tone resigned. ‘Unless Flo’s about? I could talk to her.’

  Rose grimaced. ‘She’s in the meeting too.’

  At that Alice’s face fell and she said nothing.

  Rose offered her friend a ghost of a smile. ‘I’m sure whatever it is isn’t that bad.’

  ‘I think it might be,’ Alice whispered.

  Before she could say anything else, the door to Mr Button’s office opened and Mrs Claremont and Flo walked out.

  At the sight of Alice, Mrs Claremont stood by the doorjamb and smirked, while Flo looked as if she wanted the ground to swallow her up whole.

  ‘Alice, perhaps it’s best if you, er …’ Her voice trailed off as Mr Button appeared behind them all, his hands clutching a file.

  As soon as he saw Alice, Mr Button’s face became grave. ‘Mrs Milwood, I wonder if you could step into my office please?’

  His tone brooked no argument and she followed him inside, ignoring the look of delight that passed across Mrs Claremont’s face.

  ‘I expect you know what this is about,’ Mr Button said, sitting behind his desk but not inviting Alice to do the same.

  Alice nodded her head sheepishly. ‘Yes, sir. My insubordination.’

  ‘Quite right,’ Mr Button said, his tone softer now. ‘What on earth were you thinking of? You are one of the most well-respected, well-liked members of staff we have. Why on earth did you speak to Mrs Claremont like that?’

  Alice lifted her chin to look Mr Button directly in the eye. She regretted what she had done, but she wasn’t sorry. ‘Because she said some things that weren’t very pleasant, sir. I lost my temper.’

  Mr Button eyed her coldly. Steepling his hands together, he leaned across the table. ‘You do realise that I’ve spent the past two hours listening to Mrs Claremont tear you to shreds. She wants you sacked. I had to draft Flo in to help calm things down.’

  Alice said nothing for a moment. She could understand why Mrs Claremont would feel like that, but what was troubling her more was her department manager’s attitude. After their talk in the café, she’d truly believed they might be able to bond over their struggles in life, but in actual fact it seemed that since then Mrs Claremont was going out of her way to make life more difficult, not just for Alice but the department as a whole – it was something Alice was no closer to understanding. Opening her mouth to say as much, she promptly closed it again. Something told her that Mr Button had heard enough moans and groans for one afternoon; what he needed most now was an apology.

  ‘I’m sorry, sir,’ Alice said sincerely. ‘I accept whatever punishment you wish to send my way. It’s no more than I deserve.’

  ‘It is no more than you deserve,’ Mr Button agreed, unclasping his fingers and leaning back in his chair. ‘However, I also know that Mrs Claremont more than likely brought it on herself. Things are not shaping up as I wanted in fabrics.’

  ‘Oh?’ Alice looked at him hopefully.

  ‘But you have walked right into her hands.’ Mr Button gave an angry shak
e of his head. ‘And now I am faced with a very difficult decision. However, Flo and I managed to have a private conversation after Mrs Claremont brought this to our attention and we have come up with a solution we both feel is fair.’

  Alice’s heart banged against her chest as loudly as a drum as she waited to find out her fate.

  ‘Flo and I feel that rather than have you sacked, it’s better you are demoted and become a sales assistant once more,’ he said. ‘Mrs Claremont has requested that her deputy in gifts moves across to fabrics and becomes her deputy in fabrics. As a result Jean Rushmore will now take over your role and you will, I’m afraid, receive a decrease in wages as a result.’

  Alice’s jaw fell in shock. To lose the job she adored, not to mention the salary that went with it, all because of one careless mistake, seemed an awful cross to bear. Yet at least she still had a job, and that in itself was something to be thankful for. She might not like it, but at least she would be able to feed and clothe her child and really that was the only thing that mattered.

  ‘Thank you, sir,’ she managed eventually. ‘I’m sorry I let you and Flo down.’

  Mr Button offered Alice a small smile. ‘I’m sure that you had your reasons for your response to Mrs Claremont, but I have to set an example, Alice. I have to show that insubordination will not be tolerated and I cannot reward this kind of behaviour, no matter how well deserved your caustic tongue might have been.’

  Nodding, Alice did her best to return Mr Button’s smile. She knew he would have fought tooth and nail for her to remain in the department and she ought to be grateful.

  ‘I appreciate that, sir. I’ll make the best of the situation and I won’t let you down again,’ she said meekly.

  ‘I know you won’t.’ His tone was kindly. ‘And I also know that this will be difficult. I want you to know that you have my full support, Alice, along with the board of course. We all think you’re a wonderful staff member, loyal, dedicated and hard-working. You know our customers better than they know themselves. I want to help you succeed, Alice, you just need to give me a reason to. Now, is there anything else?’

  Thoughts of the money she had wanted to borrow for a day out flashed into her mind but she knew she could hardly ask for that now.

  ‘No thank you, sir. I’ll just get back to work,’ she said sadly, preparing to return to the shop floor with her tail very much between her legs.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  As the gentle breeze whipped around Alice’s neck, she basked in the warmth of the June sunshine that beat down against her face and smiled. Jack had been right: a day out was just what the doctor ordered.

  A few days had passed since Alice had been demoted, and although every day had been tough she was just grateful to have a job. It was this gratitude that helped Alice deal with the fact she now spent many of her shift hours in the stockroom rather than the shop floor. This not only meant the job itself was less interesting but that Alice lost out on vital commission.

  When Dot had heard about what had happened she was furious and wiped the floor with Mr Button on her behalf. However, he told her much the same thing as he had told Alice, which was that he naturally hadn’t wanted to demote Alice but his hands were tied. Dot was furious and told him that she wouldn’t be going away for the weekend with him after all – before asking if she could borrow from the company’s holiday fund for a loan to treat the girls to lunch in the park.

  Apparently the roar of laughter that came from his office could be heard on the floor below in carpets, according to Mary, as he readily agreed to Dot’s cheek.

  Which was how on a fine Sunday afternoon in early June, Alice together with Flo, Mary, Rose, Dot and of course Arthur found themselves lying in Hampstead Heath, sunning themselves without a care in the world.

  ‘Alice, is there any more tea in that flask?’ Dot asked from her position down on the grass.

  ‘It’s blistering,’ Mary squawked in amazement. ‘Surely you’d rather have a nice cold drink instead?’

  ‘Tea cools you down,’ Dot replied, eyes firmly clamped shut. ‘So less moaning and more supping, if you please.’

  Alice chuckled and wordlessly poured her landlady out another cup. Dot propped herself up on her elbows to drink it and the look of pleasure on her face as the scorching liquid trickled down her throat was evident for all to see.

  ‘I dunno how you can drink that on a day like this,’ Flo wondered as she peered up at the cloudless blue sky, the warm sunshine making everything in the park seem as if it were bursting with colour.

  ‘You’ve got to take your cuppa breaks when you can,’ Dot muttered. ‘And since Beatrice caught me with a brew in the stockroom the other day my tea breaks have been severely curtailed.’

  Flo pulled a face. ‘I thought we weren’t talking about her today.’

  ‘We’re not. I think Dot just wanted to get her off her chest,’ Mary said hurriedly before changing the subject. ‘It’s a shame Aggie couldn’t make it today.’

  ‘I know.’ Flo sighed, the brim of her sunhat falling in front of her face. ‘She had a rotten night’s sleep again last night and generally just feels awful. I told her to get some rest.’

  ‘Has she not been up the doctor’s yet?’ Dot enquired.

  Flo shook her head. ‘Says it’s a waste of money, that there’s nothing wrong with her that sleep won’t cure.’

  ‘Well, a decent night’s kip is a cure-all, but she wants to get that indigestion looked at.’ Dot frowned. ‘She looked ever so pale at that afternoon tea the other week.’

  ‘And she still seems so worried about your dad turning up,’ Mary ventured. ‘Surely she can see that it’s very unlikely.’

  Flo shrugged. ‘You saw for yourself what she was like about it. She won’t listen to reason.’

  ‘Perhaps I’ll pop in on her this week,’ Dot offered. ‘See if I can persuade her to visit the doc at the very least.’

  Flo looked at the matriarch, her eyes filled with gratitude. ‘Would you really? Oh, thank you! That would be a weight off.’

  ‘My pleasure, darlin’.’

  There was a silence then as all the girls revelled in the warmth of the sun. But it wasn’t long before the conversation soon returned to Liberty’s with Mary breaking the silence first.

  ‘So, Dot, Alice said Mrs Claremont had rather a go at you yesterday. Is that true?’

  Dot raised an eyebrow. ‘She tried. Said I’d stacked the fabrics the wrong way but we’ve always made what we can of the Rayon section – even now with what little we have left. I would have put her in her place but, Mary, you’ve moaned so much about being in carpets I thought a tongue-lashing off our esteemed boss would be better than being amongst the dusty old rugs you keep grumbling about.’

  ‘It’s not that bad is it?’ Flo asked, aghast.

  Quickly, Mary shook her head, ‘No, it’s just I miss you girls and of course it’s all so different.’

  ‘Boring different?’ Alice asked.

  Mary grimaced. ‘We get fewer customers, that’s true. And of course I don’t know quite so much about carpets as I do about fabrics. And, well, Mr Brown-Smythe is of course a marvel, I mean what he doesn’t know about Persian history could be written on the back of a stamp—’

  ‘But what you’re saying is you’d rather watch paint dry than keep working in carpets,’ Dot said, cutting Mary off and getting to the heart of the matter.

  The girls burst out laughing as Mary nodded. ‘Afraid so. I just feel I don’t belong there.’

  There was a pause then as the girls considered what Mary had said above the calls of children playing bat and ball behind them.

  ‘I know what you mean,’ said Flo eventually. ‘I still don’t think I should be doing Mrs Matravers’ job.’

  ‘Don’t be silly,’ Alice said in a surprisingly firm tone. ‘You’re doing very well.’

  ‘Hardly! I nearly messed up a fabric order from Jenner’s in Edinburgh the other day. Thankfully Mrs Claremont was able to put
me straight, but if she hadn’t I’d have really been in trouble.’

  ‘Well, that’s what staff are for,’ Mary pointed out, not unreasonably, as she helped herself to a cup of tea from the flask. ‘To help you out. You’re deputy store manager, Flo, you can’t possibly do everything.’

  ‘I know,’ she sighed, casting her gaze out across the lake, ‘but it was a mistake I made with my old department. I mean, I could be forgiven for getting something wrong in jewellery but fabrics …’

  As her voice trailed off, Alice placed Arthur on the rug she had brought for him to lie on and leaned over to squeeze her friend’s hand. ‘I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, you’re doing brilliantly.’

  ‘Exactly,’ Mary offered. ‘I mean Mr Button hasn’t said anything, has he?’

  ‘And we all know he would say if he had a problem, Flo,’ Alice said knowingly.

  ‘Sorry, girls, you’re right. I’m worrying too much. I think I must be missing Neil.’

  ‘Hardly surprising.’ Alice replied. ‘You’re newly-weds; it’s only natural to want to be together.’

  ‘Quite right,’ Rose agreed, running her fingers absent-mindedly across the grass. ‘I had a letter from Tommy last week. He’s still saying that he’ll try again for compassionate leave.’

  ‘Oh, Rose, let him,’ Mary said almost pleadingly. ‘He wants to be with you.’

  ‘No!’ Rose replied sharply. ‘Me and Joy both agree—’

  ‘Joy?’ Alice interrupted.

  Rose looked up defiantly. ‘Joy has been very supportive lately. She says I have to learn how to cope on my own. That you never know what’s around the corner.’

  ‘Oh, like Joy would know,’ Alice scoffed. ‘She doesn’t cope on her own. She always comes cap in hand to me.’

  ‘I think you’re being very unfair,’ Rose said stiffly. ‘Joy has really been trying lately. She had her reasons for stealing when she was younger, what with you being so poor.’

  Alice couldn’t help herself and let out a roar of laughter so loud that she woke Arthur. She spoke over his cry of disapproval. ‘That what she told you? She also tell you how she used to go looting through people’s belongings when they was blitzed out of their homes even though she had a full-time job ’n’ all?’